A 3:45 alarm is useless...if you are already up at 3:00. My flight from Detroit left at 7:30 in the morning on Saturday and I was ready to go. With two suitcases, weighing 46 and 48 pounds respectively, a backpack filled with cookies, oyster crackers, books and odds and ends that wouldn't fit in either suitcase, a laptop computer, and dear old Glitzy (a stuffed cat or bear, its never been decided either way) I was ready to go.
In Detroit, I first went through security and getting an OK and not needing any sort of pat down made feel like I had aced some really challenging exam. After security, I found my way to my gate where the airplane had been overbooked and they were offering people travel vouchers in increasing amounts (up to $600) to change to a later flight. I think everyone who wanted one, had a seat at the end and we were on our way to Atlanta.
In Atlanta, I had about 35 minutes before my plane was boarding, so I hurried to the tram station as quick as I could and upon entering the tram, I ran into one of my running buddies from Jarabacoa. Now, to understand the full extent of this coincidence, Atlanta is the biggest airport in the United States and is enormous. The tram has multiple cars and runs every 2 minutes and I had barely missed the previous train. Neal, that's what we will call her since that's her name, isn't coming back to Jarabacoa, but was in Atlanta on her way on a different trip. So, it was so much fun to catch up with her on the 3 minutes 31 seconds trip to concourse E. Also, in Atlanta, I ran into another friend going to Jarabacoa and so were able to chat briefly boarding.
After landing in Jarabacoa to the applause of the Dominicans, we got out and headed into the airport. (Please note the applause is for the landing, not for our disembarkment, but probably could have been for both) The airport was jam packed with people. The line wound back and forth and instead of a sea of people, it was more like an ocean. Apparently, the Dominicans decided it would be a good idea to have the records of every single traveler who enters country, so they had to fingerprint EVERY SINGLE PASSENGER! The line lasted a good hour and a half and I felt increasingly worse for the Rovian and my taxi driver who were waiting outside to pick me up.
The ride back to Jarabacoa seemed short, I swear it gets shorter every time, and we were soon back into J-city as Rovian put it so poetically. The city was slightly different than I had remembered from July, there was a few more additions on buildings and my house had been reorganized and rearranged, so it took a while to find everything that I needed. I'm excited that I have a roommate and that she seems nice. We took her on her first moto ride, baptizing her in the culture, to my favorite restaurant for a celebratory welcome back feast.
I'm looking forward to seeing what year 2 will bring. I'm excited to see how God will move in my life. Please keep me in your prayers as I keep you in mine and let's pray not for a year without challenges and frustrations, but for a year where we grow and continue on that winding path that God has set before us.
